Lawmaker: Student in T-shirt lawsuit should be named

Lawmaker: Student in T-shirt lawsuit should be named

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Tennessee lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct is asking a judge to name the student who filed a lawsuit alleging school officials wrongly distributed T-shirts promoting the Republican.

Rep. David Byrd’s attorney argues the student is no longer a minor since filing the complaint and should not be protected from public scrutiny. Byrd’s attorney added Tennessee taxpayers would end up paying any potential financial award and that information should be public.

Byrd hosted an October “Senior Day on the Hill” for high school seniors. A voice message was sent to families telling students to get shirts promoting Byrd and change before boarding school buses.

The lawsuit claims First and Fourteenth Amendment violations.

Byrd has been accused of sexual misconduct while he was a high school coach decades ago.